1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to radio communications. More specifically, the present invention relates to systems and methods for reception of commercial radio programming while operating in a mobile environment.
2. Description of the Related Art
The operation of a radio receiver in a mobile environment is commonplace. A typical example is an AM/FM receiver operating in an automobile. While travelling, a user often selects radio stations to listen to for information or pleasure. An important factor in selecting a radio station is the broadcast program content of the station in view of the listening preferences of the user. For example, a user may desire to listen to National Public Radio (‘NPR’), a public radio program content station, traveling by automobile.
The Federal Communications Commission (‘FCC’) licenses broadcast radio stations in the United States. Such license grants indicate, among other things, the geographic location of the radio station, the frequency of operation, station call sign, and the maximum transmitter power allowed for the station. This implies that the station will have a predetermined geographic area of coverage. Those who have listen to the radio while traveling readily appreciate that conventional radio stations have limited coverage areas. Consequently, a station may be selected because of its program content and signal strength. However, as the user travels away from the station coverage area, the signal weakens and is ultimately lost. Then, the user may desire to locate another radio station along the traveled route that broadcasts similar search the radio band for another station that broadcasts similar program content.
A user that is travelling and loses a radio station signal will typically search for another station to listen to. User searching is typically accomplished with manual tuning, or sometimes with a scan or seek function built into the radio. While this approach is effective at locating a radio station, it does not readily assist the user in locating a station that broadcasts the desired program content.
Published guides to radio stations are available that list geographic location, station call signs, frequency of operation, and program content. Such a guide can be employed by a user to aid in locating a broadcast radio station. However, such guides are not always readily accessible and are cumbersome to access while travelling. This is especially true when a user travels to a region with which he or she is not familiar.
Another problem arises in rural areas where limited radio service is available. In a situations such as this, the user may seek a specific program content station, such as the aforementioned public radio station, but be unable to locate such a station. Then, the user may prefer to select similar, but different, program content stations. For example, a talk radio format may be preferred as an alternate to public radio, as opposed to a RAP station, for example.
Thus there is a need in the art for a system and/or method for enabling users of radio receivers that operate in a mobile environments to identify and receive radio stations with a desired program content, or preferred alternate program content, as the radio receiver travels though a geographic region larger than the radio coverage area of a single radio station.